IND vs SL: The three-match T20 series between India and Sri Lanka will begin on July 27 (Saturday). The opening game of the series will be played at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium at 7 p.m. in the evening. Two new captains with a number of youngsters will come face-to-face with each other.
Both sides have some really good players who will make this game an interesting one. These two teams have a number of star batters who can change the game on their own. But there are good bowlers as well. So we will have a number of key matchups in the first IND vs SL clash on Saturday. In this article, we will talk about three player battles in the coming game.
IND vs SL: Three Player battle to Watch out for in the first T20I
1. Suryakumar Yadav vs Matheesha Pathirana
The Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav will have the responsibility of taking Indian batting forward. He is India’s best T20I batter, and with the added responsibility of captaincy, he is expected to deliver a good performance. He is very good player of spin, and that will be useful in Sri Lanka. But he will be facing Sri Lanka’s best pacer, Matheesha Pathirana. He is not easy to line up because of his slingy action. Hence, this will be a pretty good battle between two stars. Pathirana dismissed Suryakumar recently in the IPL 2024.
2. Shubman Gill vs Maheesh Theekshana
India’s vice-captain Shubman Gill will be another important batter for India. He is in good form and knows that he wants to solidify his place at the top. Hence, he will be looking to perform. Gill was the top scorer in the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe. But he will be facing Maheesh Theekshana. The veteran spinner is brilliant at home and has different variations to deceive any batter. He has bowled six balls to Gill in T20Is and dismissed him once already.
3. Kusal Mendis vs Mohammed Siraj
Kusal Mendis is Sri Lanka’s best batter in the last few years. He has scored most runs for them across formats since 2023. He is also pretty consistent and is coming off a good LPL 2024 season. Sri Lanka will hope that he can do well in the first IND vs SL game and help the team get off to a good start. But he will be facing Mohammed Siraj, who has gotten the better of him many times. Siraj has troubled Mendis a lot. In international cricket, Siraj has bowled 29 balls to Mendis and conceded only nine runs and dismissed him four times, which is excellent by Indian pacer.
